1. Why did Premium Ingredients choose the Region of Murcia and Barcelona as locations for the company?

I lived in Catalonia when we decided to establish the Premium company 11 years ago. We were looking at different options, including Catalonia, Madrid and other locations in southern Spain. As you know, when you are thinking about starting up a business, you are guided by things like the people you know…
So when we visited Murcia we saw that the cost of putting up the business and the land for our facilities was much more affordable than areas in Madrid and Barcelona. We decided that Murcia would actually be the ideal location, since our idea for the corporate model had to be reasonable.

2. What are the advantages the Murcia Region offers to your business?

Looking back 11 years, Murcia was, of course, a region close to the Mediterranean which was well connected to the north of Spain via the highway network. The city is well communicated with the ports, too, which meant that this combination of transport options would make shipping merchandise very accessible.
Historically, the Region has had a lot of activity with fruit and vegetable sales, which meant that the transport companies and service availability are on the same level as any other part of northern Spain.

3. Has Premium reached its expectations since arriving in the Region of Murcia?

Actually, Premium Ingredients has exceeded our expectations after all these years because we moved into Murcia with a small factory and since then we have not only grown in terms of corporate structure, but also we have brought Murcia to the rest of the world. What I mean by this is that our products are sold in countries worldwide as well as in Murcia and Spain. We use our infrastructure in Murcia as headquarters for sending products to Russia, the Middle East, India, the Americas and other places, which indicates that we are very satisfied with the results we’ve seen to date.

4. How do you feel about the qualifications of human resources in the Region of Murcia?

In today’s business world, I think that human resources is an essential subject. In Murcia, I think there are a lot of capable and qualified people.

It is also clear that, in an industrial sense, Murcia is not as powerful as Madrid or Barcelona. Nonetheless, there are more qualified workers than one might find in other industrial and economic areas in Spain.

In our company, personnel have been chosen from the residents and citizens of the Region of Murcia and we have incorporated them into our business philosophy. Future growth doesn’t worry us because we are sure that we’ll be able to find people with the appropriate training right here in the Region of Murcia.

5. What future plans does your company have here in Murcia?

Our strategy is clearly focused on our Murcia plant being our main production headquarters worldwide. In the current business environment, a company must have industrial structures in different markets and locations throughout the world. Nevertheless, our Murcia plant is our central headquarters today and will continue to be so despite future development.

As you know, we have technical facilities in several areas. Currently we have a new technical facility in Girona, north of Barcelona, and we plan to establish technical plants in other areas throughout the world where we can find the necessary technical personnel. But I would like to reiterate that we have no doubt about our satisfaction with our current location and this is why we will keep headquarters in Murcia.

6. Is the Murcia Region a nice place to live?

Murcia is a nice place to live.  Here we have the sea, the mountains…and very good quality of life.

I live in the mountains and it only takes me seven minutes to get to the city center. There are a lot of local public and international schools to choose from for my children. I think one of the best parts, in contrast to cities like Madrid and Barcelona, is the fact that I can be anywhere in the city in 15-20 minutes. Aside from convenience, I think Murcia offers very good quality of life and an array of opportunities for enjoying free time, outside of work.

 

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